Sandack claims victory in state House primary

Matune calls it 'a particularly tough and public race'

Rep. Ron Sandack of Downers Grove claimed victory in a heated state House contest in which only 153 votes separate the Republican opponents, according to unofficial tallies.

Sandack squeaked past Downers Grove school board member Keith Matune in the 81st District Republican primary with 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent of the votes, according to preliminary numbers.

"I expected it to be close," Sandack said Wednesday. "This was an extremely difficult race. There were clear issues of divide. I've been trying to expand the party's base and get more people into the party and focus on the issues that affect all families, which is the financial future of the state."

Matune, a member of the Community High School District 99 school board, conceded the race late Wednesday.

"This has been a particularly tough and public race. Both sides were passionate about supporting their candidate and that's a good thing, because we need people to become reengaged with their government and the democratic process. But this current race has come to an end," Matune said in a press release issued Wednesday evening.

The race became contentious from the get-go, as Matune lambasted Sandack for endorsing gay marriage legislation and for not upholding bona fide conservative values, while Sandack and his supporters accused Matune of not being forthright about misdemeanor pleas to public indecency and criminal trespass as a college student in the 1990s.

The vitriol intensified in recent weeks over social media and through mailers supporting each candidate. Sandack acknowledged the charged tone but declined to discuss it further, saying that he needed time to carefully reflect on all that had happened.

Noting the near 50-50 split of voters, Sandack said he is now focusing on reaching out to the residents that sided against him.

"My next step is to shore up different constituencies to make sure they know that their voice will be heard and that I will listen to them," he said. "I think it is about focusing on the issues that matter to all, like the financial future of the state."

Robert T. Saar, executive director for the DuPage County Election Commission, said there are 61 absentee ballots yet to have been collected and 50 provisional ballots that will be scrutinized.

Saar said the commission does not automatically recount or reassess votes in close elections, as is the custom in other states. In cases where the losing candidate garnered at least 95 percent of the votes of the winner, he said, he or she can file a petition for discovery, in which the candidate can request to review the ballots and to have the machines retested, among other measures.

The candidate could then file suit in circuit court to make the case that there is overwhelming evidence indicating that a recount would overturn the results, Saar said.

"The Election Commission is a neutral party. We have no horse in this," Saar said.

DuPage officials will begin retabulating the results on March 25. The state elections board is scheduled to certify the results April 18.

The 81st District encompasses parts of Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Naperville, Lisle, Darien, Westmont and Woodridge. There was no Democratic candidate on the March 18 ballot.